***

I looked down at Winston, unable to hide my bewilderment.

But the reason for my confusion was solely because Winston had knelt before me.

‘As I thought, something has happened to Cardien.’

I had asked Chelsea to let me meet Winston instead of going to see Cardien.

Chelsea left the room immediately, saying she would bring Winston right away.

I laughed hollowly at her behavior, which seemed almost relieved, but only briefly, as I was thinking about what might have happened to Cardien.

Not long after, Winston visited, and what followed is the current situation.

‘Winston wouldn’t know anything about my abilities.’

Neither Cardien nor Lemon were the type to tell others about my abilities.

‘He must be truly desperate.’

Desperate enough to kneel and beg before someone who is merely a tutor.

‘In Winston’s eyes, I must have seemed extraordinary.’

He probably came here with a vague belief that I could solve the problem.

‘That means the situation is that desperate.’

I gathered my complicated feelings and first helped Winston stand up.

“Please. Get up.”

“……I apologize, Tutor.”

Winston bowed his head weakly and slowly rose to his feet.

Only then did I get a proper look at Winston’s face, and I pressed my lips together.

‘He’s lost weight…..’

Winston, whom I met after ten days, looked much more exhausted and aged.

As if what had been ten days for others had been several years for him.

I looked at Winston with a sympathetic face and let out a deep sigh.

Winston’s shoulders flinched.

I had sighed out of frustration, but he seemed to be blaming himself for his actions.

I didn’t have the presence of mind to clear up that misunderstanding.

From Winston’s appearance, I could tell how precarious Cardien’s situation was.

“I apologize. You should be resting too, but I made such a reckless request….. Please don’t mind what I said-“

Winston, belatedly conscious of his actions, tried to withdraw his words, but I didn’t listen.

“What has happened to His Grace?”

I knew it was rude behavior, but.

‘If Winston looks like this, something serious must have happened.’

I felt anxious.

What on earth could have happened to Cardien?

Winston hesitated and struggled with himself.

Soon, he looked at me with a resolute face, having seemingly made a decision.

“……It would be better for you to see for yourself.”

I quietly nodded.

***

I was worried that Chelsea might try to stop me, but fortunately, she let Winston and me go without resistance.

When I entered Cardien’s room with Winston, Sigmon turned around with a surprised expression.

Winston was equally surprised.

“Mr. Sigmon, hadn’t you left?”

“Ah….. I was still concerned about His Grace’s condition, so I came back to check. But…..”

Sigmon’s gaze shifted toward me.

His expression roughly said, ‘Why are you here?’

Winston spoke on my behalf.

“I asked the Tutor to look at the master’s condition.”

“……Pardon?”

Sigmon looked even more bewildered at Winston’s words.

That was understandable.

After all, I was just an ordinary tutor, not a doctor.

But there was no time to make him understand.

I slowly walked past Sigmon toward the bed.

Finally, I stopped one step away from the bed.

Just like the last time I saw him in the carriage, Cardien was sleeping soundly in a neat posture.

Winston, who had approached my side at some point, explained in a gloomy voice.

“He hasn’t awakened for ten days.”

I glanced slightly at Winston.

“According to Mr. Sigmon’s opinion, his magic is stable, but the shock he received at the time was so great that he hasn’t regained consciousness yet.”

“Shock…..”

“Tutor, what exactly happened that day?”

At Winston’s question, I lowered my gaze.

After hesitating, I quietly answered.

“He had a…… magic outburst.”

“A magic outburst, you say?”

Winston’s eyes widened.

By now, Sigmon had also approached and was listening to our conversation.

I nodded slightly.

“He lost consciousness after the magic outburst, and I think that might be the cause.”

“That’s….. But he has had several outbursts before, yet he has never been unconscious for this long.”

“About that. I think I know the reason……”

“What?!”

Winston’s eyes widened.

Sigmon also looked at me with a surprised face.

“H-how? No, more importantly, what is the reason?”

“First…..”

I turned back to Cardien and spoke softly.

“……Could you leave us alone for a moment?”

“Pardon…?”

Winston looked at me with bewildered eyes at my sudden request.

But he soon nodded with a resolute face.

“Understood.”

“B-but, Butler.”

Sigmon seemed to have a different opinion.

He looked at Winston with an anxious expression.

‘Well.’

To his eyes, having just returned to Mercedes, I would appear to be just an ordinary tutor.

He seemed perplexed by Winston’s choice to readily entrust Cardien to me.

“I trust only the Tutor.”

“……”

With the head butler and Cardien’s aide speaking so firmly, Sigmon could no longer object.

“Thank you.”

“If you need anything, please call us anytime. We’ll be waiting outside the door.”

Nod.

I nodded slightly, and Winston took Sigmon and quietly left the room.

Tap.

I looked at the firmly closed door and then turned back to Cardien.

I looked at the firmly closed door and then turned back to Cardien.

His peacefully sleeping expression looked so serene, unlike a villain, that it almost felt wrong to wake him up.

“What kind of dream are you having that you still haven’t woken up?”

Did a moment exist in his memories that was so happy he didn’t want to wake up from it?

I would prefer if that were the case.

‘It would be too terrible if he were trapped in a nightmare.’

I gradually lowered my posture.

Leaning my body next to Cardien, I looked at his face for a moment.

Then I slowly extended my hand and placed it on his forehead.

“It’s time to wake up, Your Grace.”

As I murmured softly, a silver light burst forth from beneath my hand.

***

“Ugh……”

My vision is blurry.

Having barely opened my eyes, I looked around.

A gray alley.

This is…..

‘Am I in Cardien’s dream?’

That’s when it happened.

Rustle.

I turned my head at the sudden presence.

Only then did I discover another being in this alley.

Perhaps it was natural.

After all, the owner of this dream is ‘Cardien.’

I happily headed toward the direction of the sound.

Eventually, I could see him in the darkness.

But…..

Chomp chomp.

The young Cardien I had barely found was hastily devouring something.

However, that thing…..

Squeak-!

Splat-

With a short death cry, blood splattered around Cardien’s mouth.

Cardien paid no mind and continued to grip it tightly with both hands, biting, chewing, and swallowing.

“……”

At that horrific scene, I could no longer approach.

I could only watch as Cardien ‘feasted.’

After devouring what he held in his hands for a while, Cardien staggered to his feet.

After briefly turning in my direction, Cardien moved back into the alley.

I stared blankly at the small bloodstain left where Cardien had sat, then hurriedly followed him.

Stagger stagger.

Cardien’s steps forward were precarious, ready to collapse from the slightest touch.

“Haa…… Haa……”

His breathing was incredibly rough.

As his steps became increasingly unsteady, Cardien leaned against the wall.

Slide.

His body collapsed against the wall.

“Huk……”

His breaths were feeble, yet his breathing sound was rough.

“Cough, cough!”

Soon, Cardien clutched his stomach and coughed as if he were dying.

And then…..

“Cough, haa……”

Dark red blood splattered onto Cardien’s palm.

He was coughing up blood.

After staring blankly at his hand for a moment, Cardien’s lips slowly parted.

“Ha, haha……”

What seemed like a self-deprecating laugh leaked out.

“Haha, hahaha!!”

Cardien burst into laughter like someone genuinely happy.

But that didn’t last long.

Thud-

As his laughter stopped, Cardien’s body tilted to the side.